Shelving for gaming consoles? Cable management hacks?

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Dochartaigh
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Re: Shelving for gaming consoles? Cable management hacks?

Post by Dochartaigh »

HDgaming42 wrote:
Dochartaigh wrote:Oh ye of little faith. (epic post snip)
You make a compelling case for zip-ties my friend. Thanks for sharing! :)
Lol. Thanks. I just looked at my Amazon history and I've ordered 900 velcro ties in probably 2 years.....I gave them more of a chance than most people have. Now they're relegated to mostly wrapping up loose cables for storage.

I'm on my second bag of 1,000 Zip Ties right now...and still vastly prefer them for most things. I used that many of both because I'm on my second server rack (outgrew the half-height one), with about a dozen total re-do's from scratch (and many, many, more incremental changes over time.).
Windfish
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Re: Shelving for gaming consoles? Cable management hacks?

Post by Windfish »

Windfish wrote:I need your honest opinion, guys. I have taken in what has been said in this thread, and I have, over the past few days, scrutinized every option. Here is what I have found:

You need furniture with backboard, absolutely. Furniture without backboards, such as Ikea's popular Kallax shelving, make it very difficult to do cable management. With a backboard, you can mount wiring and other components, such as power bricks and surge protectors, with strong, double-sided adhesive. That's the way to go, in my opinion. With the help of cable clips and adhesive, you can mount all the wiring on the backboard, nothing hits the ground.

Now, this is where I need your guys' opinion. It requires a little imagination, but how about something like this unit:

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/hemnes-sto ... -30382210/

The shelves have enough clearance for top-loading consoles, more than enough. And if you drill holes through the backboard, you can do all the cable management stuff. The very bottom shelf, you can put cube storage.

Be honest, tell me what you guys think. I am enthusiastic about its utility, but I am less sure on its appearance. It actually looks fine, but perhaps it may look off in the context of your living room as an electronic rig. I dunno, but try to imagine stocked with gaming swag and consoles, tell me what you think.
Quoting for the new page. :)
ldeveraux
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Re: Shelving for gaming consoles? Cable management hacks?

Post by ldeveraux »

Windfish wrote:
Windfish wrote:I need your honest opinion, guys. I have taken in what has been said in this thread, and I have, over the past few days, scrutinized every option. Here is what I have found:

You need furniture with backboard, absolutely. Furniture without backboards, such as Ikea's popular Kallax shelving, make it very difficult to do cable management. With a backboard, you can mount wiring and other components, such as power bricks and surge protectors, with strong, double-sided adhesive. That's the way to go, in my opinion. With the help of cable clips and adhesive, you can mount all the wiring on the backboard, nothing hits the ground.

Now, this is where I need your guys' opinion. It requires a little imagination, but how about something like this unit:

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/hemnes-sto ... -30382210/

The shelves have enough clearance for top-loading consoles, more than enough. And if you drill holes through the backboard, you can do all the cable management stuff. The very bottom shelf, you can put cube storage.

Be honest, tell me what you guys think. I am enthusiastic about its utility, but I am less sure on its appearance. It actually looks fine, but perhaps it may look off in the context of your living room as an electronic rig. I dunno, but try to imagine stocked with gaming swag and consoles, tell me what you think.
Quoting for the new page. :)
I understand what you're trying to do, and I think that HEMNES console will work considering you only have 8 consoles. Do you plan on expanding? If so, don't shortchange yourself and have to purchase a bigger storage device later.

Additionally, I never planned on having to rearrange, unplug, remove, etc all my consoles, but it happens pretty often. I'm always futzing with the consoles and optimizing setup, which requires access to front AND back. I would strongly advise against a closed back unit. You can still velcro tie the cables and orient them neatly (I do) without the back. I'm not sure how they convinced you the back would even be advantageous, but I disagree. Take it from someone who's behind my setup more than I'd like!

I think I have 16 consoles, a TV, massive receiver, and all the switches, converters, extractors, etc. I have a large bench in the middle similar to this:
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/hemnes-cor ... -90424976/
On each side, I have something similar to this:
http://tinytoesphotography.co/leaning-w ... ar-sh-diy/
So I have them completely full and stacked with everything and I can't add another console.
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brokenhalo
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Re: Shelving for gaming consoles? Cable management hacks?

Post by brokenhalo »

If you're even a little bit handy, google "flexy rack". It's a fairly easy project, and ultra customizable. Cable management is pretty.nice as well, as you can loop/velcro tie the extra length up and then tie it to the rear posts to.keep it out of the way.
ldeveraux
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Re: Shelving for gaming consoles? Cable management hacks?

Post by ldeveraux »

brokenhalo wrote:If you're even a little bit handy, google "flexy rack". It's a fairly easy project, and ultra customizable. Cable management is pretty.nice as well, as you can loop/velcro tie the extra length up and then tie it to the rear posts to.keep it out of the way.
Ultra customizable, but how in the work do you buy it? I can't even find an official website to check details. Or is this a Lowes special? :wink:
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the Goat
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Re: Shelving for gaming consoles? Cable management hacks?

Post by the Goat »

ldeveraux wrote:
brokenhalo wrote:If you're even a little bit handy, google "flexy rack". It's a fairly easy project, and ultra customizable. Cable management is pretty.nice as well, as you can loop/velcro tie the extra length up and then tie it to the rear posts to.keep it out of the way.
Ultra customizable, but how in the work do you buy it? I can't even find an official website to check details. Or is this a Lowes special? :wink:
I think it is a DIY project. Check out salamander designs archetype rack for a pay and play solution.
-the Goat
Heliopause Heavy Industries :: video game console repairs and modifications
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brokenhalo
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Re: Shelving for gaming consoles? Cable management hacks?

Post by brokenhalo »

ldeveraux wrote:
brokenhalo wrote:If you're even a little bit handy, google "flexy rack". It's a fairly easy project, and ultra customizable. Cable management is pretty.nice as well, as you can loop/velcro tie the extra length up and then tie it to the rear posts to.keep it out of the way.
Ultra customizable, but how in the work do you buy it? I can't even find an official website to check details. Or is this a Lowes special? :wink:
Make it yourself! You need some lengths of 1/2" all thread rod. 1/2" nuts and washers and some wood for materials. Tools wise, you need a drill with a 5/8" spade bit, and a hacksaw to cut the all thread to length. I've made a few using 3/4" thick cabinet grade plywood, and had the lumber cut to size at the hardware store on their panel saw to make the project even easier.
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Danexmurder
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Re: Shelving for gaming consoles? Cable management hacks?

Post by Danexmurder »

In my basement I use wire racks with lots of zip ties. it has been great so far. In some isntances I just use cheap home depot ratchet clamps and those are great. They're versatile and you can remove them easily.

Upstairs I have open backed shelving but I use screw-in mug hooks to hold all my cables behind the shelves and run everything behind the shelves. It all looks very clean but it is a huge pain in the butt to set up initially.
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FinalBaton
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Re: Shelving for gaming consoles? Cable management hacks?

Post by FinalBaton »

Triple Lei wrote:Ikea Kallax with H-shaped cube shelf dividers.

Up to you to figure out the cabling situation, though. I started with good intentions but it went to hell pretty quickly...
This is a very solid setup, worth highlighting IMO.

With back braces you could even put a not-so-huge crt on it.
-FM Synth & Black Metal-
nova1313
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Re: Shelving for gaming consoles? Cable management hacks?

Post by nova1313 »

Ikea IVAR. I've stained the upright posts cherry which looks rather nice and differentiates them from the shelve which are pine.
I also used these for game storage after previously having used Kallax. You can fit dowel rods into the peg holes in the sides to hold games and adjust the shelves for whatever height you need. They take up substantially less space than the Kallax.

Multiple shelves in IVAR allow you to pack in systems rather nicely.
Bonus: The shelves are _CHEAP_ so not too much worry when modifying them.

Cable management:
Option 1 - Ziptie/Velcro to the upright side rails between the front and back allowing your cables to run down the sides mostly hidden.
Option 2 - Drill or Hole saw areas into the back corners a path for cables to run.
Option 3 - If you use multiple cross braces you can zip tie or velcro to these in the back. I've had success sticking a piece of ply in front of this and hiding wires in installations that required it.

Layout:
Shelf Spacing: Adjustable with inch increments.
Components: Sticking scalers/switchers/power management gear on a central shelf of the rack allows all console cables to easily reach them.

From back:
https://imgur.com/a/KJZ79wQ

From front (before stain)
https://imgur.com/a/uWna34n
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